There are things that matter in our business, like working out your monthly social reporting process or figuring out your social business strategy.

Then there are the things that REALLY matter in our business, things that make the other “important” stuff seem very, very small.

A few months ago, Bill Powell – one of our sales guys at Argyle – revealed that he has an inoperable tumor on his brain stem. He has three to five years of medically controlled symptoms before things will begin to take a turn for the worse.

As you might imagine, this was like a punch in the stomach for our team. And certainly for Bill and his wife Jessica.

Bill’s response to the situation has been nothing short of amazing. He immediately resigned from Argyle and announced that he’s fulfilling his lifelong goal of completing a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail. He begins his trek next week. You can follow all of the action on Bill’s blog “Going South”, his Twitter account, and his Facebook Page.

What’s more – Bill raised more than $10k on Kickstarter to fund a book and photo journal that will chronicle his adventure. And he’s bagged several sponsors that have comped him some top-quality gear worth thousands of dollars. He’s obviously a pretty good sales guy, but his wife Jessica deserves some of the credit for rallying the Fark.com community to support the effort.

Last night, Argyle threw a “Happy Trails” party for Bill – complete with a campfire cake, chubby bunny, a champagne toast, and a rousing set from the Argyle house band, The Bill Powell Admiration Society. You can see our photo below and some to the side, a few of which I’m sure I’ll regret publishing. (I swear that we’re a legitimate, enterprise-grade software company!)

We have 5 core values at Argyle – Passion, Productivity, Transparency, Self-Awareness, and Goodness. We talk about them frequently, including every Monday during our weekly team check-in.

Last night was the best yet reflection of our Goodness – from Jill’s and Claire’s quick planning and clever execution of the shindig, to the team’s gracious applause after the band’s decidedly sub-par cover of “Eye of the Tiger”, to – of course – all of the hugs and farewells to Bill.

It made me feel very proud of my team and very lucky be an Argyler.

Happy trails, Bill. See you later this year!

Eric